The market for electricity is continually looking for ways to bring electrical supply and demand together to make their operations more efficient. For example, Utility companies try to maximize and align peak and off-peak supply and demand of energy with the production of energy from power plants. These discrepancies in supply and demand have led to the need for efficient energy storage systems that can level out the differences.
In addition, scientists continually attempt to produce renewable energy sources that are efficient, such as solar energy and wind energy. These sources can produce electricity at sporadically, but often lack the consistent output desired over a period of time. For example, solar energy devices can generate electricity during daylight hours when such light is available, but they have trouble meeting energy demand overnight or during periods when sunlight is not available to the solar cells. Moreover, wind energy produces power only if the wind is blowing, which can make it difficult to control when enough power will be provided to a grid. A reliable energy storage system is desired to stabilize these two renewable energy sources by leveling the energy required for the grid and moving excess energy to a storage facility.